Remo Ambassadors on the batter side, and the previous owner used Pearl resonant heads. It's a 71 Ludwig, an original blue/olive badge kit. The snare isn't numbers matching, but the bass and 3 toms are. The snare is a Ludwig from the same era, though, with the sharp edged badges. The previous owner found it in a church, replaced a few lugs, the batter side bass hoop, and he put the blue oyster pearl wraps on the kit. All of the shells/badges are in excellent condition and the kit as a whole sounds incredible, exactly what I wanted. I got everything, including an extra snare shell of the same brand and vintage for 750 on Craigslist. Not sure what cymbals I should go for with this kit, but it will probably be a classic series like Zildjian A's or Paiste 2002's. I'm by no means brand loyal with cymbals but I'd like something from the same era with a rock sound but still dark and dry enough for jazz, too.

That's great – but I've never seen a steel Ludwig snare from that era. You HAVE to find a Supraphonic if you haven't already. There is nothing better for the price. Right now in my area there's three of them on craigslist, so it shouldn't be too hard to find.

You payed a great price for everything though! I feel like you could make $200 if you flipped em on ebay tomorrow! It doesn't matter if the snare's numbers match unless the snare has the same wrap as the kit. Are the insides painted white?

I'm definitely going to look into the supraphonic. The inside of the shells aren't coated with anything. I think the snare might actually be a few years newer, but it still has the sharp edged badges rather than the rounded ones. I may be incorrect but I've always heard the round edge are newer than the sharp edge, and I remember reading something similar to that. I'll look up the year tonight when I'm home. Also, he gave me an aluminum snare shell with the sharp edged badges as well. No lugs or rims, just the shell.

The aluminum shell would be an Acrolite – a student snare drum that is still very popular today but not worth much (especially without all the stuff). You're right about the round edged badge. Sometime around 1978 they changed it because people would get their clothes caught on the sharp edges.

Find a 6.5x14 Supra and you will never want another snare. People told me that for years, and it really didn't hit me until I played one in a studio. Nothing compares to it for the price. It's loud as hell and extremely versatile. I can't recommend it enough. Doesn't matter which badge you find, they are still made the exact same way that they were when they first came out. Although some from the 60's-70's weren't plated very well and the chrome plating had a tendency to flake off. But that wouldn't affect the sound at all, just the looks.